Mail handling and delivering system



April 10, 1934. J MADlGAN 1,953,967

MAIL HANDLING AND DELIVERING SYSTEM Filed Aug. 25, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet lIg/J E J7EE? l Pam/2 J 22%;;

April 10, 1934. P. J. MADIGAN I MAIL HANDLING AND DELIVERING SYSTEMFiled Aug. 25, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 10, 1934. P. J. MADIGAN1,953,967

"AIL HANDLING AND DELIVERING SYSTEM Filed Aug. 25, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 5aiyazz N 4.: i m l. 3 i w o .11 A bk WN mm W saw I 5 mm N\\ 31 HWWLN NM,W\ .m\ W\ E Patented Apr. 10, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MAILHANDLING AND DELIVERING SYSTEM Patrick J. Madigan, Chicago, 111.Application August 25, 1930, Serial No. 477,563

13 Claims. (01. 198-42) In post oilices, mail order houses, and in othersimilar establishments wherein large quantities of mail such as letters,postal cards, and similar flat articles are handled in large quantities,

considerable difliculty has been encountered in the handling, assorting,and distributing of the letters, postal cards, and the like primarilydue to the antiquated methods at present in use. Flat mail such asletters and postal cards are received in the distributing roomin anextremely mixed up condition requiring the primary sorter to handle eachpiece of mail separately and turn the same so that the address side isturned inwardly and with the stamped corner in a required position readyto be placed in a stamp cancelling machine prior to sorting. The variouspieces of mail after cancelling, when properly positioned, are thendeposited by the sorter in a selected compartment of a distributing casedependins upon the particular State or Territory to which the mail isaddressed. It will thus be noted that a large number of compartments arerequired in each of the distributing or sorting cases and that thecompartments or boxes soon become filled. It is, therefore, necessarywhen large quantities of mail are handled that the boxes or compartmentsbe of sufficient size to hold large quantities of sorted mail. With thiscondition, it will be noted that the number of compartments in a caseare limited, thereby requiring extremely large sorting cases to coverthe difierent division centers or territories. This sorting of the mailrequires the services of a large number of collectors whose duty it isto visit the various distributing cases at given intervals of time toempty the sorted mail from the various compartments, tie or bundle thegrouped mail and then deliver the same for further or final distributionor possibly post marking.

In order to improve the present system of handling and delivering mailand the like, to reduce the cost and the personnel required, to speed upthe service and to eliminate intermediate handling of mail between theprimary sorter and the stations for final distribution, this inventionhas been devised for the purpose of providing an improved method andmechanisms for improving the handling and sorting of fiat mail and thelike whereby mail, after being cancelled or post marked is properlypositioned and sorted by a primary sorter, and is then automaticallyconveyed and delivered either in a flat position or on edge to variousselected destinations in proper faced position for delivery into mailcancelling machines, if not previously cancelled or into stackers inquantities which will not overtax the capacity of the cancellingmachines or stackers.

It is an object of this invention to provide an .0 improved mailhandling and delivering system whereby flat mail and the like may beautomati cally delivered from the primary distributing cases inpredetermined position and correctly faced for proper distribution anddelivery to va- 0i rious destinations or sections for cancellation orfor final distribution.

It is also an object of this invention to provide an improved methodwhereby letter mail, packages and the like, when sorted and positioned[0: by a primary sorter or distributor, may be more rapidly deliveredfrom one distributing station to another in proper faced position forautomatic delivery into cancelling machines or stackers by a continuousoperation. M

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved mailhandling and distributing system wherein the primary distributing caseshave the pigeon holes or boxes thereof provided in greater quantitieswithin a given space with direct connections by means of mechanicalguides and conveyances which are so arranged that the articles of mailor the like are delivered in predetermined faced positions withoutfurther manual handling directly from the sorting cases into cancellingmachines or stackers in controlled quantities for cancellation orbundling prior to final distribution.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved mailhandling and distributing system which is so arranged that whenpreviously cancelled mail is positioned and delivered thereto in apredetermined or selected faced position, said articles of mail may beguided and conveyed in predetermined quantities into the field ofoperation of feeding mechanisms which act to automatically deliver themail properly faced into stackers in unlimited quantities selectivelyapportioned in quantities equal to the capacity of the stackers orreceiving devices.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved method forhandling mail or the like at a plurality of different receivingpositions by manually facing the articles of mail and positioning thesame in the selected grouped mouths of distributing chutes permittingthe articles of mail to be delivered by gravity and deposited fiat,properly faced and positioned upon conveyors into positions wherein thearticles of mail are turned up and then delivered on edge still properlyfaced into feed mechanisms for mechanical delivery and insertion intoreceiving and stacking mechanisms for final distribution.

It is an important object of this invention to provide an improved. andsimplified mechanical system for the rapid distribution of articles ofmail and the like, said system having a plurality of chutes arrangedwith the receiving ends thereof closely grouped together to provide adistributing or sorting case for receiving articles of mail inpredetermined faced positions and immediately transferring and conveyingthe articles maintained in their proper positions to mechanisms whichact to change the positions of the articles of mail maintaining therelative facing thereof for delivery in stacked relation into receiversfor final distribution.

Other and further important objects of this invention will be apparentfrom the disclosures in the specification and the accompanying drawmgs.

The invention (in a preferred form) is illustrated in the drawings, andhereinafter more fully described.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion of a primarysorting room disclosing primary distributing or sorting cases for theselective reception of articles of mail properly faced for finaldistribution.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view illustrating thegravity delivering chutes connecting the distributing cases withconveyor mechanisms positioned at a lower elevation.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the conveyor mechanismsillustrating the grouped positioning of the delivery chutes and thepositioning of the receiving mechanisms for receiving the articles ofmail properly faced in stacked relation for final distribution.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail elevational view taken online IVIV of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary enlarged detail plan view of one of the groupsof receiving mechanisms and the mail handling and feed devices.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical detail view taken on lineVI-VI of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on line VII-VII ofFigure 5.

Figure 8 is a vertical detail section taken on line VIII-VIII of Figure5.

As shown on the drawings:

The mail handling, sorting, and delivering system embodying thisinvention involves an improved method adapted to be accomplished bymeans of improved sorting, conveying, feeding, and stacking mechanismswhich are so arranged that flat mail, such as letters, postal cards, andthe like, when delivered to a receiving or sorting room, are handledonly by the primary sorters or distributors after which the improvedmechanisms are adapted for automatically conveying and delivering thearticles of mail directly from the distributing cases by continuousoperation directly to cancelling machines, if not previously cancelled,or to stackers in proper faced stacked relation ready .for, finaldistribution.

The improved mechanisms whereby the new method ofqhandling flat mail ismade possible are adapted to be installed in distributing rooms of postoffices andthe likeand may be mounted on one floortor onseveral floorsdepending upon circumstances. In the present showing of the device, thereference numeral l indicates a'dis- ,tributing room to which collectedflat mail; such as letters, postal cards, packages and the like aredelivered in large quantities in baskets, bags, or other containers tobe assorted and distrib uted by primary distributors or sorters. Themail receiving room 1 is provided with a floor or, if desired, aplatform 2 having supported thereon a vertical partition 3. Mounted uponthe partition 3 is a runboard or shelf 4 upon which the fiat mail isdeposited to be conveniently accessible for handling by the distributorsor sorters.

Mounted upon the runboard 4 at spaced intervals are a plurality of mailreceiving cases or sorting frames 5. Each of the distributing cases orframes 5 comprises a plurality of boxes or pigeon holes 6 which may becomparatively small so that a large number of pigeon holes or boxes maybe provided in a small space and within easy reach of the sorters ordistributors.

The flat mail received in the distributing or sorting room is firstdivided or sorted into general or primary classes according to States orTerritories which are represented by the pigeon holes or boxes in thesorting cases or frames 5. One or more of the distributing frames orcases 5 is provided depending upon the size of the post eifice and thequantity of fiat mail usually handled therein. In the present equipment,the sorted mail is not stacked or accumulated in the various pigeonholes or boxes of the distributing cases as under the old system, and inthe present arrangement it is, therefore, possible to reduce the size ofthe pigeon holes or boxes whereby a larger number of pigeon holes to beprovided in a given space provided for a distributing case or frame.This important feature permits a larger number of distributing boxeswith pigeon holes to be disposed for convenient access by a singledistributor and permits a speeding up of the service inasmuch as thedistributor is not interrupted in his work by collectors required underthe old system for removing the sorted mail from the distributing casesfor delivery to cancelling machines or stackers prior to finaldistribution. Attention is also called to the fact that the sorted mailpositioned in the pigeon holes or boxes of the distributing cases by theprimary distributor is not permitted to accumulate but is continuouslyremoved as hereinafter more fully described. This arrangement obviatesdelay which heretofore frequently occurred when mail for particularstations rapidly accumulated in the respective pigeon holes to fill thesame before the collectors found time to remove the same. No delays ofthis nature are therefore encountered in the present improved method inwhich the various pigeon holes or boxes of the distributing cases areformed by the upper or receiving ends or mouth pieces forming a part ofa plurality of gravity discharge or delivery chutes or tubes '7. Thereceiving ends or mouth I pieces of the distributing chutes or tubes 7are assembled and connected with the distributing case, rack or frame 5with the openings in said tubes either forming the pigeon holes orboxes,

or registering with openings provided by a case, 1

rack or frame.

As illustrated in Figure 2, the gravity or feed distributing chutes ortubes 7 lead downwardly from the distributing frame or casing 5 andproject through openings provided in the platform or floor 2. In thepresent showing the chutes 7 are of the open trough type to facilitateaccess to and inspection of the articles which are deposited therein fordistribution. While open chutes or troughszare describedinthe presentshowing, it

will,.of course, be understood that closed chutes or tubes may be usedifpreferred.

The lower. discharge ends of the chutes 7 are shapedandpositioned abovea series of conveyors. or belts8 arranged in groups for receivingflatmail from the discharge ends of the respective delivery chutes 7,one of which is associated with eachofthe conveyors or belts 8. Thegroups of primary. conveyors or belts 8 are mounted to receive a drivefrom a driving mechanism 9 which maybe of any. desired type orconstruction. The primary conveyors or belts 8*are mounted so that theupper laps thereof 'run through guide channels or troughs 10 which serveto hold the pieces of mail against slipping on falling off of theconveyors or belts 8.

Connected'with the discharge or outlet ends of the guide troughs orchannels 10 are the upper ends of a. plurality of intermediate guidechutes orchannel elbows 11. The auxiliary or intermediate chutes 11 havethe lower ends thereof positioned at substantially right angles withrespect to the upper ends thereof sothat the mail delivered thereto fromthe primary conveyors or belts Bis permitted'to fall by gravity and bedelivered face up and properly positioned upon a plurality of secondaryconveying belts 12.

The secondary conveyors or belts 12 are connected with a common drivingmechanism 13. The secondary conveyors or belts 12 are mounted so thatthe upper. laps thereof run in suitable channel guides or troughs 14 forpreventing fiat mail from sliding sideways off of the conveyors orbelts.

Referring now to Figures 5 to 8 inclusive, a detailed showing isillustrated covering the feeding and stacking mechanisms associated witheach of thesecondary guide channels or troughs 14 and the conveyor orbelt 12 running therein.

Mounted at one side of the outer end of the guide channel 14' is a mainor primary cancelling ma.- chine or stacker which may be of. any desiredstandard type of construction but herein briefly illustrated asconsisting of a horizontally positioned magazine or frame 15 providedwith a slidable stop plate 16 against. which the outermost letter orpiece of mail is adapted to contact when letters, postal cards, or flatmail 1! is delivered. to the magazine and stacked therein with thepieces of mail all properly positioned and faced. Rotatably mounted atthe inner or entrance end of' the magazine or stacking rack 15 is astacking wheel 18 whereby articles of mail 17 may be convenientlydelivered into the receiving end of the magazine.

The conveyor or belt 12 travels in the guide channel 14 up to a position20 so that any articles of mail 17 carried, by the belt are dischargedtherefrom and fall by gravity onto a rounded guide shoulder or bafflemember 21 which is mounted in the guide channel 14 immediately adjacentthe outer bight section of the belt 12. The shoulder or baflie 21 isspaced a short distance above the inner surface of the bottom plate ofthe guide channel 14 as clearly illustrated in Figure 8 and is alsomounted so that the inner face thereof is spaced from a curved orconcavesurface 22 forming a part of the outer wall or flange of the channel 14beyond the outer end ,of the belt 12. A pocket 23 is thus provided between the guide shoulder 21 and the outer wall of the guide channel 14for the reception of the pieces of mail 17 which are carried in a flatposi- 'tion upon the conveyor or belt 12 and which, when discharged fromthe belt, drop upon the baiiie or guide shoulder 21 and are consequentlyguided into the pocket 23 with the position thereof changed fromhorizontal to vertical. It will thus be seen by referring to Figure 8that the articles of mail 17 are now positioned in a vertical oredgewise position resting upon their lower edges with the variousarticles of mail still properly positioned and faced in eitherindividual or grouped relation.

As the articles of mail 1'? are discharged from the end-of the belts andare deposited in vertical position in the receiving pocket 23, the loweredges of the articles of mail are brought into contact with the topsurface of the upper lap of a feed or auxiliary belt 24 which acts toconvey or 'feed the vertically positioned articles of mail from thechamber or pocket 23 into a restricted guide passage 25 formed in oneside of the outer end of the guide channel 14 by means of alongitudinally positioned partition or wall 26. Mounted on the partition26 and positioned angularly across the passage 25' are a plurality ofspring controlled guide flaps or fingers 27 which serve as aligners forthe approaching articles of mail carried by the auxiliary feed belt 24to cause the articles of mail to be shifted with respect to 'one anotherinto overlapping relation to be fed from the auxiliary belt 24 into aposition to be frictionally engaged by a rotatable vertically positionedsecondary feed belt 28. Mounted vertically within the feed passage 25adjacent the secondary feed belt 28 is a feed roller 29 which coactingwith the secondary feed belt 28 serves to feed the articles of mail 17into pockets of a rotatable stacker wheel 18 to be delivered therebyinto the receiving end of the magazine or rack 15. The articles of mailare all conveyed and fed through the guide channel 14 bythe various feedbelts and guide mechanism and are delivered in vertical properly facedrelation into the end of the magazine or stacking rack 15. With theadmittance of the mailinto the end of the magazine or rack 15, the stackis moved inwardly. The stacked mail properly faced is then removed fromthe magazine and delivered to various destinations or sections for finaldistribution.

The main cancelling machine or stacker 15 is designed to receive andstack articles of'mail in predetermined quantities.

In case the quantity of mail carried by the secondary conveyor or belt12 becomes excessive or stacked up beyond a certain height or elevationin the guide channel 14, an emergency or overflow cancelling machine orstacker mechanism is provided at one side of the guide tube 14 and at aspaced distance to the inside of the main or primary cancelling machineor stacker hereinbefore described. The overflow mechanism comprises astacking machine and a plurality of feed mechanisms constructedsubstantially the same as the parts comprising the main stackingmechanism. The parts of the auxiliary stacking mechanism whichcorrespond in construction to those of the main stacking mechanism areidentified by corresponding reference numerals.

For the purpose of deflecting and guiding any excess articles of mail 17from the secondary conveyor belt 12 a deflector belt 30 ismountedvertically at an inclined angle across the top of the belt 12 andis adapted to be operated by any suitable driving connection 31 asillustrated in Figure 7. When articles of mail are stacked on the belt12 and cannot pass underneath the transversely disposed defiector belt30 the articles of mail which cannot pass beneaththe deflector belt 30are consequently brought into contact therewith and are diverted therebyfrom the belt 12 into a side pocket or chamber 32 formed at one side ofthe guide channel 14, as clearly illustrated in Figures 5 and '7.Mounted within the chamber or pocket 32 and connected with the bottomwall of the guide channel 14 is an inclined guide wall or baflie member33 upon which the deflected articles of mail fall and are therebydirected from a horizontal into a vertical, upright or edgewise positionin the receiving pocket or chamber 32. As the excess articles of mail 17are delivered or side tracked into the chamber 32 the lower edgesthereof are brought into contact with the top lap of the auxiliary feedbelt 24, one of which is provided for operation in the lower portion ofthe chamber 32, as illustrated in Figure 7. The excess articles of mailwhich have thus been de livered in vertical position upon the auxiliaryfeed belt 24 are still properly positioned and faced and are conveyed bythe auxiliary belt 24 into engagement with the aligning fingers or flaps2'? for advancement between the secondary feed belt 28 and the feedroller 29 for insertion into the receiving end of the auxiliary stackingor can ceiling machine by means of a rotatable feed wheel 18 which maybe operated by any suitable connections with the driving mechanisms ofthe system.

The operation is as follows:

The improved method or process is made possible by the improved systemor mechanical arrangement of mechanisms which are illustrated in thedrawings and hereinbefore described in de tail. Selected flat mail suchas letters, postal cards, packages and the like are delivered in a mixedup condition in sacks, pouches, baskets or other suitable containersdirect to the primary sorting or distributing room 1 to the primarydistributors or sorters whose duty it is to empty the collected mailupon the runboard or shelf 4 for the primary sorting or distribution. Insome stations the mail may be cancelled or post marked before beingdelivered to the sorting and distributing room.

The primary sorting or distributing consists of assigning the particularpieces of mail according to State or Territory which usually comprisesthe main divisions in which received mail is sorted. In the presentmethod or process, the primary sorter picks up a piece of mail with theaddressed side uppermost and with the stamped corner outermost andnearest the right hand of the sorter holding the piece of mail to makeit convenient to read the State or Territory to which the mail is to beforwarded. The primary sorter stands on the platform or floor 2 in aconvenient position whereby access to the various pigeon holes,compartments, or boxes 6 of the primary distributing cases or frames 5are accessible and deposits the selected pieces of mail with theaddressed side uppermost and the stamped end outermost into the selecteddistributing box 6 starting the same on its course to a destination forfinal distribution.

The selected box in which the piece of mail has been deposited forms themouth piece or receiving end of a selected one of the gravity feedchutes or tubes 7 which are inclined and so positioned that the piece ofmail deposited in the entrance end thereof is permitted to slidedownwardly by the action of gravity and is discharged out of the lowerend of the chute in a properly faced flat position directly onto themain or primary conveyor or belt 8 which is associated with thedischarge end of the particular chute in which the piece of mail hasbeen deposited.

The piece of mail properly faced is conveyed or carried by the travelingconveyor or belt 8 and is eventually discharged thereby into anintermediate or auxiliary elbow chute 11 still properly faced. The pieceof mail deposited in the eblow chute 11 then slides or moves downwardlyby the action of gravity and is discharged from the end thereof movingin a direction at an angle to the direction of movement of the piece ofmail while it is carried or conveyed by the primary conveyor or belt 8.As the piece of mail is discharged from the lower discharge end of theelbow chute 11 it is dropped in a properly faced flat position onto thesecondary or auxiliary conveyor or belt 12 which is associated with therespective elbow chute 11.

The selected piece of mail properly faced is now conveyed or carried bythe secondary belt 12 through the guide channel 14 until the position 20at the end of the belt 12 is reached. When the piece of mail stillproperly faced reaches the position 20 it is discharged off of thesecondary belt 12 and is dropped by gravity onto the guide shoulder orbafiie member 21 and lands in the pocket 23 (Figure 8) in asubstantially vertical position or on edge with the lower edge of thepiece of mail resting upon the auxiliary feed belt 24 which acts tocarry the piece of mail on edge into the guide passage 25 and intocontact with the first of the spring guide fingers or flaps 27 which actwith the continued advance of the pieces of mail properly faced to guideor feed the piece of mail due to the advance of the belt 24 between theside belt 28 and the aligning spring fingers or flaps 27 and thenbetween the side belt 28 and the feed roller 29 both of which act uponthe pieces of properly faced mail to feed or deliver the same into theend of the magazine or stacking rack 15 due to action of the feed wheel18. Each piece of mail thus delivered to the magazine or rack 15 ispositioned against outside of a preceding piece of mail and pushes thestack of mail already deposited in the magazine inwardly a predeterminedamount, thereby permitting large quantities of flat mail to be quicklyand conveniently stacked in proper faced relation within tr e magazine15.

While only a single primary mail delivering chute 7 has been illustratedand described as being associated with each of the primary conveyors orbelts 8 and the corresponding secondary conveyor or belt 12 associatedtherewith, it will of course be understood that any desired number ofprimary distributing chutes leading from different distributing cases orracks in the primary sorting room may be so positioned that they willdeposit mail properly faced upon the same primary conveyor or belt 8.This arrangement, of course, permits sorting to be done at a pluralityof different cases in the primary sorting or distributing room withoutnecessitating any manual carrying around of the mail from one case toanother. The receiving ends of the primary distributing chutes 7 areadapted to be closely associated with one another to communicate withthe respective pigeon holes or boxes formed in the primary distributingcases or frames 5, and since the mail is not permitted to accumulate inthe pigeon holes or boxes of the distributing cases, said receivingcompartments may be made comparatively small so that a large number ofpigeon holes or slots may thus be providedin a small space easilyaccessible by a single primary distributor or sorter, thereby providingan extremely large range of distribution of mail to be accomplished by asingle sorter or distributor.

When the amount of mail to be sorted is exceedingly large it will, ofcourse, be understood that a large number of pieces of mail which areproperly faced are delivered to the various chutes 7 to be delivered inlarge quantities onto the respective primary conveyors or belts 8 whichin turn carry the large quantities of sorted mail properly faced to thesecondary conveyors or belts 12 for delivery to the main receivingmachine or stacker or to auxiliary receiving machines or stackers aswill be hereinafter described.

Referring now to Figure 5 of the drawings, it will be noted that whenlarge quantities of mail all properly faced are being conveyed throughthe guide channels 14 by means of the secondary conveyors or belts 12the mail is adapted to pass beneath the deflector belt 30 to be conveyedto the main receiving machine or stacker 15 or is moved into contactwiththe operating deflector belt 30 when at certain elevations above thetop surface of the belts 12 so that the excess mail is diverted ordeflected to one side and is discharged sidewise off of the secondaryconveyor or belt 12 and falls by gravity onto the guide plate or bafilemember 33 (Figure 7) which acts to guide the diverted mail in itsdownward course so that said mail is turned on edge and is depositedwithin the pocket or chamber 32 with the lower edge of the mail restingupon the auxiliary feed belt 24. The traveling feed belt 24 conveys thepieces of mail properly faced'and standing on edge between the springcontrolled guide fingers 27 and the side feed belt 28 and then intoengagement with the feed roller 29 so that the excess pieces of mail arefed into the receiving end of the secondary or auxiliary magazine orstacking rack 15 to be stacked therein by the action of the stackingwheel .18 ready for final distribution.

It will thus be noted that large quantities of flat mail properly facedmay be selectively apportioned to each of a numberof receiving machinesor stackers in quantitiesv equal to the capacity of the respectivereceiving machines ready for final distribution or in some instancesready for delivery to cancelling machines if the mail has not previouslybeen post marked prior to sorting.

The improved method and the mechanisms whereby it is accomplished permita greaternumber of pigeon holes or primary receiving boxes to bepositioned in a given space with easy reach of the primary distributoror sorter, thereby permitting a more rapid sorting and depositing ofletters or other similar articles'into the primary sorting cases orframes from which the sorted pieces of mail are adapted to beimmediatelyremoved thereby dispensing with the use of collectors which heretoforehavebeen required for removing sorted mail from the primary distributingcases or frames for manual delivery to cancelling machines, stackers, orthe like. The immediate removal of the selected pieces of mail from thepigeon holes or boxes of the primary distributing case permitsexceedingly large quantities of mail to be deposited therein without anydanger of overstacking the pigeon holes or boxes. The various conveyingchutes and delivery belts are so arranged that the mail properly facedis carried thereby for proper inspection anywhere along the line ofdelivery of the mail. By associating two or more cancelling machines orstackers with each of the various guide chutes and conveyor beltmechanisms substantiallyunlimited quantities of fiat mail areexpeditiously handled in shorter time and with materially less help thanhas been possible heretofore with the use of the methods and devices forhandling and distributing mail heretofore in use in post offices andsimilar distributing establishments.

In the present method and with the improved mechanisms whereby it isadapted to beaccomplished, attention is directed to the fact that thehuman element is substantially eliminated after the primary sorter ordistributor places the articlesof mail properly faced in the selectedcompartments or pigeon holes of the primary distributing cases until thedistributed mail is removed from the cancelling machines, stackers, orthe like, ready for final distribution.

Attention is called to the fact that, if desired, the cancellingmachines and stackers may be associated with the primary conveyors orbelts 8 and the primary guide channels 10 on straightway delivery inwhich cases the elbow side chutes 11 and the secondary conveyors orbelts l2 and the channel guides 14 associated therewith may be omitted.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of constructionand operation may be variedthrough a wide range Without departing fromthe'principles of this invention, and it is, therefore, not the purposeto limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated bythescope of the appended claims.

.I claim as my invention:

1. The method of handling and delivering flat mail consisting ofinitially positioning and facing articles and constraining said articlesto downward gravitational travel along a circuitous path, in droppingthe articles in substantially flat horizontal position on asubstantially horizontal traveling surface, and in continuouslyconveying away the articles successively and upsetting the articles onedge from said traveling surface in proper faced condition, moving sucharticles in edgewise position, and feeding and assembling the articlesin edgewise position properly faced in stacked relation ready for finaldistribution.

2. The method of handling and delivering flat mail consisting of aninitial manual sorting and placing of the articles of mail properlyfaced, constraining said articles of mail to downward travel anddischarging the articles in fiat properly faced position onto a movingsurface, discharging the articles of mail from the moving surfa'ce andturning the same into edgewise position with the same sides of everyarticle facing in the same direction, and discharging the articles inedgewise position'onto another moving surface and maintaining andstacking the articles of mail properly positioned and still in edgewiseposition.

3. In a mail handling and sorting system a sorting case, means connectedwith the sorting case for continuously conveying articles therefrom,conveying means for receiving the articles and advancing the same inflatwise position, mechanism for turning said articles into edgewiseposition and receiving and continuing the advance of the articles inedgewise position, and a stacker mechanism positioned to receive thearticles delivered thereto in edgewise position by the feed mechanism.

4. In a mail handling and delivering system, a sorting case a pluralityof gravity feed chutes connected therewith, a plurality of conveyors forreceiving the articles of mail from said chutes and advancing the samein fiatwise position, means for diverting the articles of mail from oneconveyor to another and changing the articles to edgewise position, astacker mechanism, and feed means for engaging and delivering thearticles in edgewise position to the stacking mechanism.

5. In a mail handling and delivering system, a sorting case, a pluralityof gravity feed distributing chutes connected with said sorting case forconstraining said articles to downward travel for distribution, conveyormechanisms for receiv ing the articles from said chutes and advancingthe same in flat position with the same side of each article facing thesame direction, feed mechanisms associated with said conveyors, meanspositioned between the conveyors and said feed mechanisms for changingthe positioning of the articles from fiat to edgewise positions duringthe transfer and maintaining the edgewise position and facing of saidarticles, and stackers positioned to receive the articles in edgewiseposition from the feed mechanisms and stack the same properly positionedand all facing in the same direction.

6. A mail handling and delivering system comprising a plurality ofdelivery chutes having the receiving ends thereof closely associatedwith one another to form a sorting case for receiving sorted articles ofmail properly positioned and faced, conveyor mechanisms positioned forreceiving the articles or" mail from the distributing chutes insubstantially the same faced position maintained in the chutes, aplurality of feed mechanisms, stackers mounted adjacent said feedmechanisms, and deflector means between the conveyors and said feedmechanisms for turning the articles of mail on edge, said articles beingmaintained in edgewise position during movement thereof by said feedmechanism, and stacking mechanism receiving said articles in edgewiseposition from said feed mechanism, said articles being movable by saidstacking mechanism into stacking position in a direction normal to thedirection of movement by the feed mechanism.

7. In a mail handling and delivering system, the combination with aplurality of stackers positioned at different delivery stations, of asorting case positioned at an article receiving station for receivingthe articles after a preliminary sorting thereof, a plurality ofdistributing means connected directly to said casing for constrainingthe articles to downward travel, a plurality of conveyors positioned forreceiving the articles in fiatwise position from said distributing meansand conducting the same in the direction of said stackers, deflectorsfor diverting the articles from said conveyors and moving said articlesto edgewise position, auxiliary conveyors for receiving the divertedarticles in edgewise position, and feed mechanisms for receiving thearticles from said auxiliary conveyors in edgewise position andadvancing the same in edgewise position into the stackers for finaldistribution.

8. In a mail handling apparatus including horizontal conveying means forthe mail pieces, stacking means receiving the mail from said conveyingmeans, a second stacking means for receiving overflow pieces from saidconveying means, and means for deflecting piled up mailed pieces fromsaid conveying means to said overflow stacking means.

9. In a mail handling system, the combination with a conveyor belt foradvancing articles of mail placed fiat thereon, of means for shiftingthe articles from the belt and turning them from the flat to theedgewise position, a second conveyor belt onto which the articles areshifted by said means and by which the articles are advanced in theedgewise position, means for maintaining the articles in such positionand stacker mechanism to which the articles are delivered by said secondbelt and by which the articles are removed from the belt and stacked inthe edgewise position.

10. In a mail handling system, the combination of a conveyor belt foradvancing articles of mail placed flat thereon, of means including abaffle member for shifting the articles from the belt and turning themfrom the flat to the edgewise position, a second conveyor belt ontowhich the articles are shifted by said means and by which the articlesare advanced in the edgewise posi tion, means for maintaining thearticles in such position and stac :er mechanism to which the articlesare delivered by said second belt and by which the articles are removedfrom the belt and stacked in the edgewise position.

11. In a mail handling system, the combination with a conveyor belt foradvancing articles of mail placed flat thereon, of means including abaiile member and a deflector belt for shifting the articles from thebelt and turning them from the flat to the edgewise position, a secondconveyor belt onto which the articles are shifted by said means and bywhich the articles are advanced in the edgewise position, means formaintaining the articles in such position and stacker mechanism to whichthe articles are delivered by said second belt and by which the articlesare removed from the belt and stacked in the edgewise position. 7

12. In a mail handling system for flat mail, the combination withconveyor means for advancing articles of mail in flat position, of meansfor shifting the articles from said conveyor means and turning them fromthe flat to the edgewise position, a second conveyor means to which thearticles are transferred by said shifting means to advance the articlesin their edgewise position,

means for maintaining the articles in their edgewise position whilebeing advanced, and stacker mechanism cooperable with said secondconveyor means to receive and stack the articles in their edgewiseposition.

13. In a mail handling system, a longitudinally extending conveyor formail, a stacker to receive the normal fiow of mail from said conveyor,another stacker to receive overflow mail from said conveyor, and amoving belt positioned extending angularly across said conveyor to moveoverflow mail towards said another stacker.

PATRICK J. MADIGAN.

